What should I do if I can't pay rent?

[cicy33]

Here, the landlord can give a 10 day notice to terminate tenancy if the rent is 1 day past due. The tenant then has up to 5 days to pay in full. If they don't - they are out of there. In reality, I doubt this is usually practiced serving a notice to evict someone if they are a day late only one time.

I am not sure the rules here but I have heard of people having to be taken to court to make them get them out of the house for not paying rent. I just know that rent is and should be a number one priority.

[Seeker]

The laws differ state-by-state with regard to evicition proceedings (from a banking/lender perspective). Most banks will not start eviction proceedings until a minimum of three payments are missed.

From landowner/renter perspective... the "agreement" rules. But then again, most landowners realize that many people live paycheck-to-paycheck and anything unusual can cause a payment delay.

From a renter perspective, it is best to deal with the landlord face-to-face and let them know the problems being faced and how you intend to rectify and when... ie have a "plan"

Many landowners do not want to lose those renters that have been paying on-time and they do not wish to go through the process of getting other people (unknown) to fill the empties repeatedly.

So if you've been a good renter in the past, explain the situation now, and have a plan for getting this month's rent paid laid out for them to plan on... and for you to plan on. And keep to it.

[wedge421]

if you have not missed a payment before Im sure your landlord will be more then accommodating to your situation. Once you do get up and running again though your definitely gonna want to try and get and emergency fund going so that is this does happen again you can be covered. Dave Ramsey says 3-6 months worth, Orman says 8 months worth. Take your pick.

[goldentraders]

Talk to your landlord before your due date. Tell him the situation that you can't promise to pay him this month. I don't know if promissory note would help. In our place, people are given 3months to pay their house rental, and if they can't really pay, that's the time landlord throw them off of their houses.

[shubh]

First of all inform the landlord and better if you could talk with him directly. Try seriously to pay the hold up rent soon, though you will have to pay a late fee. You may use your credit card or advance payment from office.

[lizzy_09]

Try to make arrangements with your landlord as to when you could possible settle your rent. Or you can try to settle with whatever you can afford now and then settle the remaining balance later at a specific date that you both agreed upon.

[Justice44]

Re: What should I do if I can't pay rent?

Generally when one does not pay rent on time there will be a late fee. Depending on where you rent will depend on what the landlord will say. If you rent from a "normal" person then sometimes you can talk to them and explain your situation. If you rent from a company chances are they are going to tell you tough cookies. I know it is not the best way to go but is there anyway to come up with the money from friends or even a short term loan? Rent is an area that you can incur the risk of being thrown out of your place. Whomever you owe the rent to is going to want a good explanation why you cannot pay if you hope they will work with you at all.

I agree with Cicy. Food and rent are absolute needs. Unless you can move back with your parents and suffer penalties for breaking the lease. I think you may want to take Cicy's advice.